Bloomberg Businessweek Turns Jobs Coverage Into E-Book

Although Walter Isaacson's Steve Jobs biography may turn out to be one of the year's best sellers, there is yet another book about the Apple co-founder that offers a new angle on the icon's life. The twist here is that the "book" is actually an e-book, and it is being released by Bloomberg Businessweek.

Titled Steve Jobs 1955-2011 by Bloomberg Businessweek, the release is a collaboration with traditional publisher Hachette Book Group. Looking at the e-book's opening, it appears that little has been modified from the online version, published in October, which can be read for free at Businessweek's Web site. For example, it hasn't been edited for time or format. "This week, we offer the biography of a boundary-breaking thinker and endlessly astute businessman It's different from any issue we've ever done," the opening reads.

Nonetheless, the 60-page e-book may find an audience given the strong insights from former Apple CEO John Sculley, science fiction author William Gibson, and Businessweek editors, as well as a glossary of Apple terms and over 60 Apple-related photos.

The Los Angeles Times is also engaged in such an experiment with the release of its first e-book, "A Nightmare Made Real," a repacking of one of the paper's investigative reports. The 41-page e-book is being sold for $0.99 with more books planned next year.

As of this writing, a check on Amazon's Kindle site shows Businessweek's Steve Jobs book as available with no price listed, but in Apple's iBooks app the book is offered for $3.99.

Earlier this month, CNN's Mark Milian produced an e-book with some never-read emails from Steve Jobs.

Jobs passed away in October, two months after stepping down as Apple's CEO. For more, see PCMag's look back at his life and a slideshow of his greatest hits below.